Today's Opinions

Recently, I was on Facebook and I saw a post that a) really unsettled me and b) really got me thinking. This has been something on my mind a lot lately, and has begun to shape the way I police what I post, or if I even post at all on social media.

Instant reactions, something we all seek, whether we like it or not. I want them, you want them, the person pumping gas next to you wants them. It’s unavoidable in this day and age, and if you don’t believe me, allow me to change your mind.

If you asked business leaders about the most important leadership skill, no doubt you would receive as many answers as the number of leaders you asked. Some might say it is setting rules and insisting they be kept. That’s authoritative leadership. Others might say it’s learning to build an influential model where your employees feel respected and are subsequently more committed to the job at hand.

People that are mentally ill do not become mentally ill over night. Mental illness happens over time. Some people are angry, some are frustrated, some want revenge, some feel everyone is against them, some are suicidal. A person with mental illness is all the above. The military type gun is the biggest ingredient in a person with mental illness thinking his only way out is to kill a lot of people.

Here’s a statistic that can give you nightmares: Emergency departments in Kentucky saw a 266 percent increase in heroin overdoses between 2013-16, according to data from the Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy.

The opioid epidemic is destroying families and being felt in real ways in workplaces, emergency rooms and, all too often, funeral homes.

"Solutions to problems are simple, when viewed from their ludicrous extremes" ... when the Constitution was crafted the only long guns were single shot muzzle loaders ... it took an expert 30 seconds to reload ... and by the seventh round, the barrel would likely tighten and it wouldn't be possible to shoot another round. THAT is the weapon that our forefathers envisioned when drafting the Second amendment in 1791.